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BC Beer Baron #197 – Moody Ales Intrepid Matcha Saison

Each month, as part of this 366-day BC craft beer extravaganza that I will be sharing with you throughout 2016, I will highlight a specific style or theme of beers for a whole week of articles. With so many brewery options out there, a game of one-upmanship sometimes occurs and from that, the world is treated to some very unique experimental releases.

On a recent trip to Craft Beer Market in Vancouver’s Olympic Village, I selected this Moody Ales brew off of the restaurant’s Rotating Taps menu.

While I’ve never been a green tea – or any tea, for that matter – connoisseur, I did enjoy the Intrepid Matcha Saison, even picking it over another option I had sampled prior to ordering. Brewed using organic lemon matcha tea, green tea characteristics come through on sight (an olive hue), smell, and taste, resulting in a smoky aroma and mildly spicy flavour. The Moody Ales website lists the beer at 6.9% ABV, but the bottles label says 7.5% ABV… my guess is the truth falls somewhere between the two figures and one thing is certain: it’s a strong beer. At 35 IBUs, it has a medium hoppiness, to boot.

Homebrewer Steve Sheldon constructed the recipe and Moody Ales was more than happy to share it with the rest of the community, being proud of their own homebrewing beginnings. Outside of visiting the brewery and sampling the beer or filling a growler, the beverage can also be found in bomber-sized bottles. Suggested food pairings include light pasta, seafood, sushi, and fresh fruit and vegetables.

I’ve been meaning to get out to Port Moody and visit the cluster of three breweries (Moody Ales, Yellow Dog, and Twin Sails) in that region, but just haven’t had the time this year. While Mrs. Sip and I have popped (almost wrote pooped, which is kind of funny when you think about it) into Yellow Dog before, we have never completed the trifecta of operations on that block.